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A good businessman knows when the time is right to expand, which means that Proposition Joe must've gotten really really good at business shortly before The Wire began. Getting you fat instead thanks to a relocation and expansion, Cakes & Ale

Just settled into a larger space in Decatur Square, James Beard-nominated chef Billy Allin and his wife Kristin have seriously upgraded their highly acclaimed bistro/bar C&A with a new full-service bakery/cafe, a big concrete-topped bar, outdoor seating, and a rooftop veggie garden coming this fall, which sounds more exciting to watch than the entire lineup of The CW. While the menu will change often, the kitchen's using a new wood-burning oven on shareable starters like padron & shishito peppers, small-platers like pork ribs w/ polenta and squid w/ okra, and entrees including saffron, tomatoes, and shell peas with striped bass, which's the look Chuck goes for when he's buying a jazz bar in Brooklyn, or tracking Blair down on rooftops, or...damn that dude loves pinstripes. They've got 60+ wines, cocktails such as the Bruja-Ha (Partida tequila blanco/ Strega/ grapefruit juice/ orange bitters/ agave), all manner of ports, digestifs, and "stickies" (Pommeau de Normandie apple dessert wine), and bottled beers ranging from the large-format Bilboquet Scotch Ale, to the dark chocolate Tokyo Black porter from Yo-Ho, so probably add an "I'll have a..." when ordering from your waitress.

The bakery at Cakes & Ale's currently offering the crustiest of baguettes, the chewiest of cookies, and the flakiest of croissants, thanks to a piece of baking equipment known as a sheeter, only because a "sheeeeeit-er" hasn't been available since the days of Clay Davis.
Photo by James Camp